JV and freshmen Wildcats finish season

Going up
Chuck Nickle Photography
Cassville freshman Hunter Madison leaps for a ball during the Wildcats' contest against Aurora on Oct. 15.

The Cassville Wildcat JV football team (6-1) earned a tough 27-26 win over the Aurora Houn' Dawgs on Oct. 15.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Wildcats opened the second quarter with a 2-yard scoring run by quarterback Marcus Weatherman to take a 6-0 lead.

Aurora answered with a long scoring drive to lead 8-6. The Houn' Dawgs increased their advantage to 14-6 on their next drive.

Cassville responded with a quick scoring drive with less than a minute to go in the first half. The drive appeared to be stalled with the Wildcats at the midfield stripe with only two seconds left in the half.

However, wide receiver Cade Pendergraft used his speed to streak by the Aurora corner, and Weatherman's pass found its target in the end zone. Bradley Lueckenhoff toed the extra point to cut the lead to 14-13.

Cassville took the second half kickoff and chewed six minutes off the clock on a drive that resulted in a Tyler Peterson 3-yard touchdown run.

Aurora would not waste any time in answering the Wildcat score. The Houn' Dawgs tied the game at 20-20 with a 15-yard touchdown pass.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Aurora kicker slipped at the same moment he was to make contact with the football. The football was kicked high and short and enabled Aurora to recover the accidental onside kick.

The Houn' Dawgs wasted no time scoring to take a 26-20 lead. The two-point conversion failed.

With four minutes left in the contest, Cassville made one last push toward the goal line.

The ground game of Weatherman and Peterson overpowered the Houn' Dawg defense, and Peterson plowed into the end zone from a yard out. Lueckenhoff nailed the extra point to give the Wildcats a one-point edge.

The Wildcat defense erased any hopes Aurora had of a comeback by holding the Dawgs on downs to end the game.

Freshmen

Oct. 15 proved to be a long night for the Cassville Wildcats freshmen football team as the Aurora Houn' Dawgs earned a 38-0 victory.

Cassville trailed 38-0 at halftime but showed a lot of character and fight by not allowing another touchdown by Aurora.

"Our offense moved the ball well at times but couldn't finish any drives," said Cassville coach Danny Powers. "Overall, I think we improved from the beginning of the season 'til the end."